Florida Teen Who Disappeared With Soccer Coach Found Safe In New York
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. (CBSMiami) – The search for a missing Florida teen is over more than 11,000 miles from where it started. The young woman is safe and the older man she left home with is in police custody.
A parking lot in Syracuse, New York is where the search for 17 year-old Caitlyn Frisina ended.
Police knew the teen and 27 year-old high school soccer coach Rian Rodriguez had been traveling north since they left Florida last weekend.
They spotted the Mercury Sable Rodriguez was driving and stopped the car. Police arrested Rodriguez and questioned Caitlyn.
"I don't think neither one of them wanted to run. I think they wanted it to come to a peaceful resolution," said New York State Police Trooper Jack Keller.
On Thursday, Caitlyn's mom, Scarlet, told CBS News she was trying to understand why her daughter left with Rodriguez, who the family considered a friend.
"I know that she to some degree left on her own. But I absolutely believe that she was lied to and totally misled," she said. "Every time I turn around there's something that reminds me of her."
Caitlyn's father, Ward, was too upset to sit down with CBS News.
Scarlet says he blames himself since he encouraged Rodriguez to apply for the coaching job.
"He said, 'I can't believe I put not just my child but other people's children in this kind of environment.' That's hard for him," Scarlet said.
Police said, on Friday, Rodriguez was cooperating and Caitlyn had spoken with her mother.
Law enforcement from Florida are on the way to Syracuse. New York State Police said Rodriguez has spent time in that area when he was younger.
